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Repossession

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Bethany12 | 11:46 Wed 30th Jul 2008 | Law
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If a house is repossessed but there is going to be equity left over afterwards, ie sold for �180,000, mortgage of �20,000, second charge of �26,000, after fees etc, do the owners get the remainder of the money back for themselves?
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Yes.
Yes - but bear in mind the fees can be more than you would think. In your example, probably no problem though.
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Thanks very much - reassuring.
Can I just ask a similar question on your thread Bethany. If you only have a small mortgage and a great deal of equity in a house (as per Bethany 12) can it actually be repossessed or can you do a deal with the mortgage company to sell the house yourself and then pay back the backdated overdue mortgage payments?

I ask this because houses that are repossessed are sold on at less than market value as the mortgage companies only real interest is to get the money owed to them and they are not interested in getting the best deal for the poor customer whose house they are repossessing.
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Obviously, in normal circumstances, no but the joint owners are fighting and refusing to pay the mortgage etc etc so in the event that it WAS repossessed, all I wanted to know was who gets the surplus.
Lofty - depends on the finance house - I suspect that most will say no - after all you would need to be 6 months in arrears to be repossessed. If the house has not sold in that time, then it may take another year for the seller to find a buyer.

Much better from the lenders point of view to stick it in an auction and be done with it.
Sorry Bethany if I didn't make myself clear. I wasn't questionning what is happening in your circumstances (none of my business).

I was just wondering if I was right or wrong about repossession if someone only had a small mortgage - not saying I was right. I seriously wondered if anyone knew whether you could negotiate to sell the house yourself if you couldn't make the repayments.

That's why I asked first if I could ask a similar question on your thread.
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No problem Lofty - its a totally stupid situation, as these people could simply put the house on the market, sell it and split the proceeds - my partner would want that, but his wife is determined to keep the house at any cost, and I suspect her next threat will be to stop paying the mortgage, but basically if she does that, he can't pay it on �150 a month earnings, so it would soon be repossessed and I just wanted to be reassured that the remainder - which would probably be a reasonable sum - will be split according to the Court's decision between the two of them. By the time they finish fighting, looks like there won't be much left anyway! Aren't people stupid?

Good luck with your own situation.
Actually Bethany12, we've no problems (at least at the moment) it was just something I have often thought about if we couldn't afford to pay our mortgage.

I do wish you luck. Yes people can be very stupid and often cut off their nose to spite their face!!
Yes, I agree it is much better from the Lenders point of view Vic, which is what I said in my posting. It's just that I know a couple who got rich very quick in the 80's by buying repossessed houses at auction - riches obtained by others' misfortunes!!
You can get a sale before the property is repossessed as it can take quite a while to get to the actual eviction.

Usually there's a first hearing and the district judge will usually try and get a repayment plan in place.

If that is not adhered to then it will go back to court and often another chance can be negotiated in order to sell or for any change in circumstances in being better placed to make payments.

Finally it's the possession order which is a matter of fact and once granted a time and date is set for the actual eviction.

Unless the arrears are cleared or the property sold (often exchange of contracts will suffice) eviction takes place. The property can still be repossessed after exchange and before completion as the lender has an overriding interest under their power of sale (hence why negative equity doesn't stop them selling, it just reduces their take).

I've got evictions stopped hours before the eviction time before now.

There are various possibilities like an option agreement can be granted for the buying clearing some of the arrears with an agreement that the lender will not take any further action until after the option period.

One thing many people often underestimate is how much they actually owe once early repayment penalties, arrears and other charges or penalties and legal fees (from when the arrears rack up and the account is put into litigation and solicitors are instructed.

As said above, the properties, once repossessed are usually sold at auction or sold cheap to investors so you would be likely to get much more money back if it sells on the open market.

If they are both on the title deeds he can get a court order to force a sale but it can be an expensive process.

Could she buy him out?
Question Author
She was buying him out, at a hugely reduced amount, but he just wanted out by then so accepted, but yesterday dropped a bombshell that she can't now because her salary is being reduced. He has a spousal charge over the property, and a decree nisi, but I don't know if a spousal charge gives him the right to apply to the Court to force a sale through public auction or not.

She is likely to make any normal sale very difficult and it could drag on and on forever, whereas at least at auction it would be sold and that would be that. But I think her next move will be to refuse to pay the mortgage and see what happens. It's been for sale since February as it is, and the atmosphere is awful for him.
If his name is on the title deeds then he can go to court to apply for an order to force her to sell.

If it's already on the market though it may be a bit pointless unless she refused to entertain any decent buyers/offers.

Could you look at putting it into auction for a decent reserve?

Is it a property that would be of interest to any investors for buy to let eg near university/hospital?

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